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Awww, cute Quilava. <3 I love how she can be all sweet and docile while doing a hardcore job. A very clever job to put her in, I might add. Although, I would've thought that as a fire Pokemon, she wouldn't need protective gear ... but maybe I'm just overthinking it. =/

PARAS
Emerald entry: A Paras has parasitic tochukaso mushrooms growing on its back. They grow by drawing nutrients from the host. They are valued as a medicine for long life.

The small shop was still and quiet. Two desk fans swept back and forth, one rustling some dried corncobs. It all blended into a background hush. A small Paras, a red Bug Pokemon with orange mushrooms growing out of her back, was peaceably gnawing on a ginger root on top of the checkout counter. There was no human in the shop. Despite this, the sign on the door claimed that the shop was open.

The natural foods and herbs store was stuffed with products. The shelves were full of a mixture of natural remedies and organic foods. Customers said that it had a distinctive smell, a complex mixture of all the products there: earthy and fruity, dense and tangy, mysterious and somehow familiar. Despite the old world philosophy, there were a few infiltrations of technology: small speakers scattered throughout the store playing ancient music, the computerized register, and the tiny bar code scanner carefully attached to the Paras’ left forearm.

A jingle of the front door broke the Paras’ attention from her lunch. A boy and girl walked in. Judging from their gear, they were Trainers. “Man, this place smells weird,” the boy said.

“It’s natural, so it has to be good,” the girl retorted. She came in further to look around the shelves. “Hello? Anyone here?”

The Paras went up to the register and ran her scanner against a bar code there.

“Good day,” the speakers answered from a recording. “I have gone out for a little while. If you need assistance, please ask my Paras. She can handle purchases of most items in the store. For anything in the locked cabinets, you will need to wait until my return.”

“Ask his what?” the boy asked.

The girl found the counter, so the Paras waved her claw. “I think it’s this Pokemon. Aw, she’s cute.” She picked her up. “But what’s with the mushrooms?”

The Paras patted the girl’s hand, then jumped back onto the counter. She scurried over to a glass jar with dried mushrooms in it and scanned the bar code. “Dried tochukaso mushrooms,” a nearby speaker identified. “This mushroom lives symbiotically on the back of the Pokemon Paras. When eaten, this mushroom promotes longevity, joint flexibility, and heart health.”

“Sounds good.” The girl glanced over the label on the jar. “Uh, but maybe not for that price.”

“Well if it only comes from a Pokemon, it would be hard to get.” He came over to the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “So this old shop has a computer that can answer verbal questions?”

“No, didn’t you see?” She picked up the Paras again. “She has this itty bitty scanner that tells the computer what we want to know about.”

“Huh. I’ve always wondered why, if they can understand us, why don’t they talk like us?”

The Paras clicked her mandibles and rubbed her legs together. “<You want me to talk like you when I can only make sounds like this?>”

“Well I think she must be very clever if the shop owner will let her run this place while he’s gone.” She looked at the Paras. “I’m looking for some honey drops, if you have any. One of my Pokemon is sick with a sore throat.”

She waved a claw in an affirmative reply, then pointed to Aisle 3. She had to correct the girl from going down Aisle 2, then guided her over to a basket of various bags of the drops she wanted. Then she waited to be of more assistance.

“Could you get a basket?” the girl asked.

“Sure thing.” He went back to the entrance to fetch one. “Which one of yours is sick?”

“Girafarig. She won’t speak and has a hard time eating. But Nurse Joy said it didn’t look serious and recommended this place.”

The boy came into the aisle. “That sounds miserable.”

“Yeah, even her tail is being quiet. I hope this is really all she needs.” She pulled out a honey drop bag. “Hmm, ‘with chamomile.’ I know she likes my chamomile tea, so this ought to be good.” She placed it in the basket.

“What kind of healing stuff would this place have?” the boy asked. “I mean, like something to replace an Antidote. My Charmander doesn’t like the taste of the standard stuff; he’d almost rather faint from poison than drink an Antidote.”

The Paras thought for a moment, then pointed over to Aisle 4. Once taken there, she pointed her scanner at a bar code for a display of small dark bottles. “Natural flavor concentrates. Should a liquid medicine taste undesirable, add a drop or two of flavoring to make it palatable. Works with standard Pokemon medications, non-prescription drugs, and natural oils. If adding to any prescription medicine, please check with your doctor first.”

“Huh. That might actually work.”

The girl laughed. “You might want to not pick a flavor he loves, or he might just intentionally get poisoned.”

“That’s true.” After looking over several kinds, he took a grape flavoring. “This should be fine.”

“I wouldn’t think so... look here. ‘This product is not made with volcanic materials. If your Pokemon is inclined to eat rocks, please look for the original recipe in the dark red wrapping.’ So maybe some of these are.”

The boy picked out a dark red Lava cookie. “Awesome. ‘This cookie is made with volcanic materials and is not suitable for human consumption, or for Pokemon with organic diets. Please make certain that your Pokemon can digest this product; otherwise, look for our plant or meat based variations.’”

“Looks like they really did their research on what Pokemon like to eat.”

The pair wound up picking out a cookie that each of their Pokemon would like, for a total of seven Lava Cookies. Then they brought the Paras back to the check-out counter. “So now what?” the boy asked.

She hopped onto the counter and waved for them to put their purchases on the counter. After making certain that they had put everything there, she scanned a different bar code on the register. Then she scanned each product one by one, pushing them towards the stack of recycled paper bags. As her memory was excellent, she rarely made a mistake. Once she was done, she scanned the register’s bar code again.

“Your total is eight dollars and twenty-three cents,” the speaker by the register announced. “Please scan your debit card or deposit your money in the appropriate slots.”

“My day to buy stuff, right?” the boy asked. He took his Trainer ID card and scanned that through the register’s reader.

The Paras hopped onto the register to where the receipt was printing. When it was done, she tore it off, then offered it up to the boy.

Finally, Paras gets a turn in the spotlight. I've always liked Paras, I even had a Parasect on my team in Blue version. I loved the Paras in this story, it was so cute. And smart too. This story had several small details that made the story really interesting. Such as the lava cookie discussion or the bit about the flavor drops.

The Paras clicked her mandibles and rubbed her legs together. “<You want me to talk like you when I can only make sounds like this?>”

Lolz xD.

This was really cute, a helper Paras. I didn't think it'd be possible. The entry fit, when it came to the herbal shop, but honestly, I was thinking something along the lines of the mushrooms being "stolen" from a Paras. *shrug* Or at least a Paras planting a mushroom (remember the Mount Moon episode?). But I liked the idea nevertheless.

Are Lava cookies really made out of lava? Well, how about crusty, cool lava? It must be much safer than fresh lava x3.

The Paras went up to the register and ran her scanner against a bar code there.

“Good day,” the speakers answered from a recording. “I have gone out for a little while. If you need assistance, please ask my Paras. She can handle purchases of most items in the store. For anything in the locked cabinets, you will need to wait until my return.”

Coming up with this kind of stuff is often because I connect seemingly unrelated bits of information and am really reluctant to label any idea stupid. Like this story came from some rather unrelated bits.

1. The Torterra entry offered a good opening to another Pokemon and Starly happened to be On Deck.

2. On the Author's Cafe, there's a thread on the overuse of Eevees that I've been shadowing. One person commented that part of the reason is that starters often grow so large that it's awkward to use them in a scene. They used Blastoise for an example, but Torterra is even bigger. I consider it seven foot plus the tree.

3. There's a whole mess of noisy starlings hanging out in my backyard right now, like 200+.

4. I like Star Wars (okay, so that's just one detail, but details are fun!)

5. (another detail) I thought of doing Stunky and Starly together, just because their names sound so alike.

TORTERRA
Diamond entry: Small Pokémon occasionally gather on its unmoving back to begin building their nests.

STARLY
Pearl entry: Usually with a large flock, it is barely noticeable when alone. Its cries are very strident.

It was a crisp fall day in Sinnoh. The trees were a bright assortment of reds, yellows, and even purples. Although those dried leaves were crackling in the breeze, a light jacket was enough to keep her warm. The sun was bright and thus it was the perfect chance to take a break and read a book. She had a Star Wars novel that was quickly coming to an exciting point; she might just have to make this break a little longer than usual.

She waved a Bug Pokemon away from her book. “Shoo, I’m resting up there.”

The Burmadam crawled back to get away from the waving hand, but then was snatched up by a Starly. The small brown bird then flew up to a nearby tree to eat its snack.

The Trainer looked up after them, then tapped the hardened dirt beneath her. “You’re attracting your own little eco-system, did you know that?”

A tan colored head poked out of what had appeared to be a small hill. “<So long as the birds get the bugs before the bugs get my tree, I don’t mind,>” the Torterra replied.

“Taking a break to read.” She grabbed her book and slide off the tortoise’s back. “You remember how you teased me about picking the little Turtwig?”

His jaw dropped. His Empoleon was as tall as the Torterra, but nowhere near as big. “That’s your starter? How’d she get so big?”

“<Patience.>”

“<He’s not someone to talk about patience with,>” the Empoleon said. “<We’re always in a hurry to get somewhere or do something.>”

A Starly landed on the Empoleon’s head. “<Hey, got any food, got any food? I’m hungry,>” he squawked.

“<Ah, grow up,>” the Empoleon replied before retreating back to his Pokeball.

“<Ack, rude!>” the Starly cried, flapping his wings frantically to not crash.

“<Rude! Rude!>” his peers called out.

“What’s up with the Starlies?” Mark asked.

Carol shrugged. “They get less annoying when you evolve them.”

“So what’re you doing blocking the road?”

She put her hands on her hips. “We are not blocking the road.”

He leaned back slightly, scratching his head. “Okay, okay, so you’re not blocking the road. You’re not going to hit me, right?”

“Not for now.” She put her hands down. “Anyhow, she gets most of her energy from photosynthesis now and she’s too big to take many places, unfortunately. I even had to request a Gym battle to take place outside once because her tree would have touched the ceiling. So for those reasons, I try to bring her out at least once a day, maybe half an hour.”

“Huh. And here I was getting annoyed at my starter having to duck through doorways. Sorry, didn’t think she’d really grow this big.”

“Well she’s still my friend,” Carol said, patting her Torterra on the head.

“<For always and ever,>” the Torterra added.

“When I get my own house, I’m gonna have to add a special greenhouse just for her.”

“<I am not smelly!>” he insisted. While he could still smell the disgusting Repel (something like rotting trash that humans somehow could not smell), he didn’t want to admit that he was wrong, or smelly.

“<Will you keep it down?!> another male called, flinging his wings out and accidentally smacking two others. “<I’m trying to nap here.>”

“<Hey, no hitting!>” the two beside him squalled.

“<Well if you wouldn’t be in the way.>”

“<No shoving either!>”

“<And get away, Stinky Stunky Starly!>”

“<I’M NOT STINKY!>”

Below them, the two humans glanced at the tree. “And for such little birds, they make such an incredible racket,” Mark commented.

The bushes, grasses, and single tree on her shell all shuddered like a strong Earthquake had hit them. Panicking, the Starlies flew off in a large cloud of brown and tan, squealing, “<Monster!>”, “<The world’s gonna end!>”, and “<Mommy!!!>”. Their wings caused a chaotic mess of wind, knocking over a sign and causing panicked stampedes among other small Pokemon. Carol lost her new straw hat and had to go chase it down.

When she came back, Mark shook his head. “Life with Pokemon: never a dull moment, right?”

“Right,” she said, checking her hat for any stray debris.

The Torterra chuckled. “<But that’s exactly what you wanted, right?>”

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

What a coincidence, I pressed refresh at exactly the moment you posted this. Weird, huh? Anywho, I love it, I've always liked Torterra since I first saw the new starters and no amount of attempted convincing from my brother managed to make me pick Infernape. I always pictured it as a gentle giant, probably because of that dex entry, and that's exactly how you portrayed it. Once again, a fascinating glimpse of the world of pokemon .

“<I am not smelly!>” he insisted. While he could still smell the disgusting Repel (something like rotting trash that humans somehow could not smell), he didn’t want to admit that he was wrong, or smelly.

“<Will you keep it down?!> another male called, flinging his wings out and accidentally smacking two others. “<I’m trying to nap here.>”

“<Hey, no hitting!>” the two beside him squalled.

“<Well if you wouldn’t be in the way.>”

“<No shoving either!>”

“<And get away, Stinky Stunky Starly!>”

“<I’M NOT STINKY!>”

LOL just a loud argument over one smelly Starly xD! This is epic!

The bushes, grasses, and single tree on her shell all shuddered like a strong Earthquake had hit them. Panicking, the Starlies flew off in a large cloud of brown and tan, squealing, “<Monster!>”, “<The world’s gonna end!>”, and “<Mommy!!!>”.

More epicness!

Short, but with light humor with annoying little things, almost like the Bidoof. I wonder why nobody complains about them. I'm kinda glad now I don't have Diamond or Pearl. I'd walk in a field of Pidgey anyday!

That was a really good one, I loved the random Starly squabble and the way you portrayed Torterra. Love the way you take aspects of the Pokemon world and bend them to your will in the most believable manner. Kudos!

A triple entry, just because it worked out that way. I do like cats, and therefore I like Persian, but this story needed a 'villianous' Pokemon and Persian fit the bill. Also, there's an in-game character here. See if you can guess who before you're told.

NIDORAN F
Fire Red entry: Though small, it must be treated with caution because of its powerfully toxic barbs. The female has smaller horns.

NIDORAN M
Fire Red entry: Its large ears are flapped like wings when it is listening to distant sounds. It extends toxic barbs when angered.

PERSIAN
Leaf Green entry: Although its fur has many admirers, it is tough to raise as a pet because of its fickle meanness.

The room belonged entirely to the Persian. It was furnished with a luxurious scratching post, expensive assortments of toys, gold plated water and food dish, an antique mirror, and an extravagant four-post cat bed with sheer white curtains, silken pillows, and a heated mattress. When he wasn’t busy being groomed, looking nice, or lording over the house, he liked to sit on the antique mahogany chair and admire the finery.

Not that he used much in the room. The toys were something to be proud of, but he couldn’t be bothered to play with them. The bed was great for chilly nights, but he preferred to take his naps somewhere in the way so no one forgot that he lived here. And while he liked to check over his beautiful self in the mirror, he much preferred....

CRASH!

A violet colored Pokemon with large ears had slid right into his scratching post, knocking it into the water dish which flipped over and splashed water everywhere. He scrambled to the middle of the room. Shortly after, a light blue Pokemon followed; she looked similar to the male, but was smaller and less pointy. She tackled the male, tumbling them both several feet while she was apparently giving him a savage attack.

Fausto jumped off the chair gracefully, for his size. He brought up a paw and extended his sharp claws. “<I’ve been made more powerful than you could ever dream of becoming. How could you dare challenge me...?>”

“<Tackle!>” Nino shouted, right before he and Nina rammed their smaller bodies into him. Their horns jammed into his shoulders, hurting Fausto more than he’d ever been hurt before.

The Persian screamed. “<Murder! You’re trying to murder me!>”

“<Uh, I don’t think that’ll kill you,>” Nino said, puzzled.

“<Yeah, that’s kinda a normal battle wound,>” Nina added.

“<The Master will make you and your boy pay,>” Fausto growled before passing out. His body vanished, going back to his all-white Pokeball.

Their Trainer ran past the doorway a moment later. Skidding to a stop, the teen came back to the door. He seemed to be in a dark mood as he brushed his black hair away from his face. “Nino, Nina, there you are. Come on, we’re getting out of here.”

“<But we just got to this nice place,>” Nina pointed out.

“What’re you doing in Fat Cat’s room anyhow?” He picked up the white Pokeball and looked at it. Then he turned pale. “You guys poisoned and knocked him out?”

“<And he deserved it,>” Nina said.

“<Pompous old cat,>” Nino muttered.

“Master Silph will be really mad about this.” Leo considered it, then got an angry glint in his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go.” He stuck the Pokeball in the pocket of his jacket, then returned to running out the hall. Nino and Nina followed him.

-+-

In an alley between some upscale apartments, Leo was fiddling with a device attached to Fausto’s Pokeball. Nino and Nina were using a puddle to clean themselves up with, but they listened as young teenager talked.

“My Dad always said that a hard day’s work makes an honest living. But where’s he gotten doing that? Nowhere. He and Mom have worked all days and most nights, and I still have to put up with crazy Master Silph to help them make ends meet. It’s not fair. At least, I had to. If I hadn’t quit, he would have fired me.”

“<They say you can tell how a Trainer is by their Pokemon,>” Nina said.

“<What’s that say about Master Silph if his Pokemon is a fatso who couldn’t fight a Kakuna?>” Nino asked.

“<He must be lazy, fat, and stupid.>”

“How can he punish me for messing with electronics when he’s stealing all of his employees’ ideas and making huge profits? I bet he hasn’t done a day of hard work in his life, but he’s making more money in a day than my Dad has made his whole life. I don’t care what people say; it’s obvious that the cheaters get ahead.”

The teenager smiled for a moment, forgetting his anger to scratch Nino’s head. But it didn’t stay away for long. “Well now I have his stupid Pokemon. A Persian is rare, I hear, because you can only evolve it with a stone that is so valuable that only someone like Silph could buy it. Maybe it’ll be really powerful if I train it. And with this,” he detached the device from the ball, “Fausto is now registered to me. Come on out.” He pressed the button.

Now healed up from the double poisoned Tackle, Fausto looked around the alley in disgust. “<Ugh, how dreadful. Where am I?>”

“<You’re with us and Leo now,>” Nina explained.

“<And Leo’s not Master Silph’s servant anymore,>” Nino said. “<Which means we don’t have to listen to you after all. So there.>”

“<What?!! I have to live out on these miserable alleyways like some common street Rattata? But that’s so unfair!>”

“<Hey, so long as there’s fresh food and water, it’s good,>” Nino said nonchalantly.

“<But how can you afford to groom me every single day, and feed me properly, and give me my own servants? I’m a Lord, not some filthy commoner Pokemon like these two rodents.>”

Nina growled, showing her barbs fully. “<What’s so bad about rodents? It’s better than being some spoiled cat.>”

“Calm down and keep quiet,” the teen hissed, his patience worn thin by various bad encounters throughout the day.

Obediently, Nina settled herself down and looked to Leo. But Fausto hissed and tried to scratch the female Nidoran. He missed, but the male Nidoran jumped up and bit the Persian’s tail, causing him to yowl again.

Leo made a good impression of being puzzled, but his mind was already in action. “Um, what for? He was kind of a gift Pokemon.”

Scratching his head nervously, he replied, “Well, to make a long story short, the man I work for is Master Silph, and I think his Persian has been stolen. He doesn’t much pay attention to him anyways, as he’s just a trophy, but I’ll get into real trouble if he goes missing. I think he won’t notice if I just replace him, though.”

I'm going to guess Giovonni
Well, I was wrong
Nevermind! I was right! And now he has his Nidoreena and Nidoking from the games!
Lol, I love that Persian. F.A.T.S.O, I'm going to catch a Meowth and name it that now.
I think this or the eevee one is my favorite!

Oh my jesus, I've been on this site for a year already...
I think I deserve gifts. Like pie.

"<Well my name is Lord Fausto Augusto Terzetto Sagittarius Ontario the Third and among Pokemon, I rule this household.>”

Nina tilted her head. “<Soo... you’re Lord F.A.T.S.O.?>”

Yasvvryl, you are full of epic win. That is an awesome name.

Anyways, liked that one. The back story of Giovanni... *cue dramatic music* Great grammar and spelling, as expected, and yet another great context for the Pokemon to be in, as expected. Looking forward to the next one as always =)

It's National Novel Writing Month which, despite the name, is an international challenge to writers to write the first 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November. I told my family about it and they said, "And you'll have it done in two weeks, right?"

That's a fair bet, but I still want to do it officially once. See the thread in the Author's Cafe for a link.

Oh, silly Pokedex bit that I forgot to mention! According to the R/S/E entries, Persian can be calmed down by grabbing its whiskers. I don't know about you, but I've never known a cat to calm down when its whiskers are being grabbed.

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!